Problems of Route 24 persist without a plan to fix them

Monday

Jul 30, 2012 at 12:01 AMJul 30, 2012 at 11:35 AM

Route 24 would be a lot safer if its on and off ramps weren’t so short and sharp. But it cannot qualify as an interstate highway, and for federal road dollars, unless the state spends hundreds of millions of dollars to fix those interchanges.

Justin Graeber

Read part 1 of this series.

It was built beginning in the early 1950s to link the major cities of southeastern Massachusetts – Fall River, New Bedford, Taunton and Brockton – to Boston. While it has served that purpose, providing a corridor to the capital city, Route 24 has also evolved into a model of highway dysfunction.

The upshot is that there are too many short, sharp on and off ramps that are too close together. Getting on the highway with only a few car lengths before you’re in 60-70 mph traffic takes nerve, and a heavy foot on the gas pedal.

“Merging vehicles try to get up to speed ... you’re competing for that space in the traffic flow,” said Charles Kilmer of the Old Colony Planning Council.

Getting off the road safely takes just as much skill.

It’s the nub of the problem for regional and state planners who would like to see Route 24 become an interstate highway, thus qualifying it for federal funds.

But to get federal money to make the highway safer, the state would first have to bring the existing interchanges along Route 24 up to federal standards. And the last estimate on what that would cost, done in 1998, was $887 million. That 14-year-old cost study also said that $225 million would be needed to fix the interchanges from Bridgewater to Stoughton alone.

“An interstate would provide longer tapers on the ramps,” Kilmer said, making them safer for drivers exiting and entering Route 24. “But there’s just not enough money in the state system to bring it up to spec.”

There are other design-related issues with the 42.8-mile road from Fall River to Randolph. The shoulder, especially on the left-hand side of the road in both directions, near the barrier is tiny and in some spots non-existent. There is no room for even the slightest drift.

“(Vehicles) hit the barrier and bounce into traffic,” he said.

Because of the lack of space on the sides of the road, even minor accidents can cause massive traffic tie-ups.

Some improvements have been made. The road was rebuilt and repaved from Avon to Raynham after a 2007 audit showed the road was in particularly bad shape.

“It drains better, the lines are more visible at night,” Kilmer said.

The state also made superficial improvements to the interchanges. “They put wider white striping to make it more visible, more prevalent, just to help define the area better,” he said.

Kilmer said that if major highway work isn’t a possibility, state officials have few options to make the road safer.

“In the short term, enhanced police enforcement, things that (the state transportation department) can do to bring it to people’s attention; slow down, don’t drive distracted,” he said.

The deaths of three people, including a 12-year-old girl, in accidents this month on Route 24 have had an effect.

Commuter Ginny Crowley has noticed a change in behavior recently.

“This morning,” she said, “ I noticed that vehicles were going much closer to the speed limit and were farther apart from each other than usual.”

On Thursday, state police announced they’ll have more cruisers on Route 24 during the weekends through the summer. They’ll be looking for some of the same factors that contributed to the deaths this month on the highway: people not wearing seatbelts and wrong-way drivers.

The state has also erected flashing signs in the median strip that deliver the message: “Speed kills. Slow down.”